The EastAfrican NEWS AUGUST 22-28,2015 CHANGED POLITICAL LANDSCAPE New political alliances threaten Tanzania’s CCM Resignation of fo≥me≥ p≥emie≥ and some top o∞cials gives opposition momentum By MURITHI MUTIGA Special Correspondent and the emergence of new alliances in Tanzania has set the stage for the most eagerly anticipated election in the country’s history. It is also an electoral contest that will be closely watched across the region. The high-profile defection T of former prime minister Edward Lowassa from the Chama cha Mapinduzi followed by a spate of resignations by top officials has given the opposition a sense of momentum that has been on display at a number of rallies staged in several towns in recent weeks. But the opposition Umo- ja wa Katiba ya Wananchi (Ukawa) alliance will be coming up against a political party machine in CCM that has long been regarded as one of the most disciplined and effective on the continent — one that has not lost a presidential election since 1961. “This is clearly a unique election,” said Dr Benson Bana, a political scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam. “The unexpected unity of the political opposition poses an interesting challenge to the ruling party. At the same time, CCM also picked a candidate in John Magufuli who has been distinguished throughout his career as a hard worker and who is not tainted by corruption. This has created an element of excitement and some uncertainty going into the election.” Across social media and in power circles in East Africa, the campaigns in Tanzania have stirred an excitement that has not been seen in around a Tanzanian election before. This attention has been un- derpinned not only by what some pundits describe as the stiffest challenge to the ruling party for more than half a century but also by the tense diplomatic relations between the Tanzanian government and several neighbours during President Jakaya Kikwete’s time in office. President Kikwete’s old ally turned bitter political rival, Edward Lowassa, has ex- he recent falling out between old political allies urgent question, considering Tanzania’s historical status as one of the continent’s most stable democracies and its prominent role in regional peace efforts, is how its institutions will cope with what is expected to be a tightly contested election. Dr Bana says an early casu- alty has been Tanzania’s reputation for having solid, wellestablished political parties. This election, he says, will revolve more around personalities, which he describes as an unfortunate development. Mr Lowassa’s defection to Prof Lipumba addressing Ukawa party members during campaigns. He resigned when Mr Lowasa joined the political alliance. Picture: File plicitly framed his candidacy as a chance to help Tanzania take its place as a regional economic powerhouse and to fulfill its potential. “This country will move at a pace never seen before [if I am elected],” Mr Lowassa told a rally at the Kibanda Maiti grounds in Zanzibar on August 17. “There is no reason why Tanzania, which has far more resources, should be left behind by neighbours like Malawi, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. I promise you I will wake up those who are sleeping on the job. Where else do you have port workers clocking off at 6pm and leaving ships unattended, or people doing a 30 minute job in 30 days?” The reference to the port issue highlights why the election will be followed closely across regional capitals. In recent years, the most striking development on the regional integration front has been the emergence of the Northern Corridor axis comprising Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. OPPOSITION Leaders in the these coun- tries have teamed up to endorse a number of big-ticket infrastructure projects to the seeming exclusion of Tanzania and Burundi. Those developments, which were seen as favouring Kenya’s Mombasa port over Dar es Salaam, saw President Kikwete make an extraordinary speech in the Tanzanian parliament in November 2013 accusing his compatriots of running a campaign of isolation against him. The outcome of the election could well shape the relations between the various capitals in the region with implications for the future viability of multibillion dollar investments in new ports in Lamu in Kenya and Bagamoyo in Tanzania. Underlying the rhetoric over the economics of port efficiency, however, are longstanding geopolitical tensions between various players, particularly Kigali and Dar, over the legacy of the 1994 genocide. The furious reaction of Edward Lowassa Edward Lowassa has explicitly framed his candidacy as a chance to help Tanzania take its place as a regional economic powerhouse and to fulfill its potential. Paul Kagame’s administration to a May 2013 suggestion by President Kikwete that regional powers hold talks with players such as the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), which stands accused of carrying out the genocide, sent relations between Rwanda and Tanzania into a deep freeze marked by the expulsion of Rwandese refugees from Tanzania and tit for tat withdrawals of diplomats. Ties between the two par- ties have improved in recent months but the succession will be watched closely in Rwanda and in Burundi, too, where Tanzania has been one of the parties seeking to man- age the crisis triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third-term bid. In Uganda, much commen- tary has focused on whether an opposition party can claim victory through the ballot box and on what that might mean, psychologically, going into the country’s own 2016 presidential election. But analysts say the more an opposition alliance that had strongly criticised him when he was in the ruling party, particularly during the 2010 election, in relation to his forced resignation over the Richmond power supply scandal has proved a subject for intense debate. At least two leading opposition figures quit the alliance over the TURN TO PAGE 12 11 Food for the Hungry (FH) Democratic Republic of Congo Inland Transporter Wanted Food for the Hungry (FH) Democratic republic of Congo (DRC) is soliciting for an inland transporter to move about 2500 metric tons of food commodities from Dar es Salaam to Bukavu, Kalemie and Moba (all door delivery, not offloaded). All the three locations are in DRC. The commodities to be transported are bagged Cornmeal and Peas and Tinned vegetable oil, packaged in cartons. We are looking for a Transport Company that: 1. Is legally registered in Tanzania; 2. Has experience in port clearance and has good working relationship with Maersk line, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) agents, port authorities, customs officials and surveyors, and other ocean carriers that may be awarded transport; 3. Has past experience in food aid cargo transportation with an international NGO; 4. 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